Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent)
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194. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to provide details of all social enterprise organisations or bodies funded by her Department in each year from 2021 to date in 2024; the amount allocated in funding to each during this time period; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42268/24]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The funding allocated to my Department, as set down in the annual Estimates, is used to meet costs associated with the provision of educational services in our schools and for various related functions. The allocation is used primarily to fund the salaries of teaching and non-teaching school staff, the development of school infrastructure, capitation funding for the ongoing running costs of schools, the payment of pensions to retired school staff, the costs associated with the school transport scheme and the general administration costs of my Department.

Funding is also provided to enable the Department to make grant payments to Education and Training Boards to meet costs associated with the provision of certain educational services and to the various agencies and bodies that come under the aegis of my Department. Funding is also allocated for a range of programmes and initiatives.

The annual Appropriation Account for my Department's Vote provides detailed information regarding expenditure and receipts for the year.

In the course of its work, my Department makes a significant number of payments every year. Such payments are made to individuals and organisations both by way of grants and also for the provision of goods and services to it. The financial management system that records the payments does not record whether the recipients have Social Enterprise Organisation (SEO) status and as such it is not possible to provide an accurate and complete list of total expenditure to SEO’s.

In those circumstances, it would not be possible without utilising very significant staff resources to search for, identify and retrieve the information sought. If the Deputy wishes to obtain further information regarding specific SEO’s I will arrange for this information to be provided.